


A Strenuous Battle

by kickcows



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Feels, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, M/M, Spoilers for Ch 367
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-16 23:53:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21044861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kickcows/pseuds/kickcows
Summary: The fight against Kamomedai had been a long, strenuous battle. It reached a fever pitch, and now it was time to deal with the aftermath. Set after Ch 367 in the manga.





	A Strenuous Battle

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this after reading Ch 367, but have been sitting on posting it. If you haven’t read the manga up to Ch 367, do not read this. There are major spoilers for the outcome of that game. I wanted to write something to get these feels out of my system. Please enjoy! :)

* * *

That was it. 

The auditorium seemed to stop making any sort of sound - or it could have been as noisy as it had been, but the only sound that seemed to be coming through Daichi’s ears was the sound the volleyball made as it struck the court, bouncing without a care as the rest of his teammates stared at the offending noise maker, their legs locked in position as the unthinkable had happened. 

They finally lost. 

Whatever quietness there had been as the ball rolled across the floor was soon gone as the roof almost blew off the stadium. The screams were deafening, as the crowd realized that the game was over. Daichi turned to look at his teammates - he could see the look of failure on Ryuu’s face as he stayed on the ground, his arm extended out - still trying to connect with the ball that was now no longer in play. 

It was done. 

Finding some sort of resolve in himself, Daichi gathered what strength that he could and turned towards his teammates. “Thank you.” He bowed at the waist, his palms flat against the sides of his thighs, trying to will away the tears. There would be time later to cry. Right now, he had to be strong and show how proud he was of his team - a team that had been a mishmosh of talent for so many years - for it to grow into the juggernaut that it was, it was truly remarkable. 

He could hear his other teammates sniffling, some openly sobbing. He knew that wherever Shoyou was, he was probably the most frustrated of them all. But Daichi knew. He knew that even if Shouyou was still out on the court, this was going to be a game they wouldn’t win. They were outmatched for the first time in a long time. As much as it pained him to admit it, they lost to a great team. 

More screams could be heard as he stood back up and looked at his teammates that were on the sidelines. He could see Koushi with tears in his eyes - they had made the right call by putting Tadashi out on the court. It was bittersweet that Koushi wasn’t with Asahi and himself right now; he belonged to be on the court to feel this sense of closure that they now have after playing together for their high school tenure. 

His head turned towards the stands, and he saw the one person he’d hoped was sitting up there. Kuroo Tetsurou, the rival captain of Nekoma, was standing up with the rest of the people on their side of the stadium, and was cheering loudly for them. Most of Nekoma was there in the stands, cheering their hearts out. Not for Kamomedai, but for /them/. And seeing the smile on Kuroo’s face helped to lessen the ache that was natural from losing an important battle. 

The ruckus wasn’t stopping, but he couldn’t pay attention to it for much longer. He walked towards the sidelines, and bowed to both their coach and their adviser. “Thank you very much.” Like before, he kept his hands at his sides, as he showed respect to both Coach Ukai and Professor Takeda. He knew it was their perseverance in their team that brought them this far. 

“You did great.” Coach Ukai said, as he began to stand back up. “Be proud of this moment.” 

He nodded his head fast, afraid that those tears he’s been keeping at bay were going to burst out of his eyes at any moment. “Thank you, Coach. Karasuno! Line up!” He shouted, as the team moved to stand in front of the net. They may have lost, but they weren’t going to be known as the team that had no showmanship here. 

“You guys played a hell of a game.” The captain for Kamomedai, Aikichi Suwa, said as they stood in front of each other. “This was a lot of fun. Exhausting, though.” 

Grinning, he shook his hand and nodded his head. “You guys really knew what we were about. Thank you for a good game.” 

After the teams shook hands, he hung back on the court as the rest of his team began to make their way towards the showers. He knew it was going to be a long night for them - he remembered the time when they had lost to Aoba Johsai, and that meal that they had shared afterwards. Tonight would be different - it would be their final meal together as a competitive team. 

“Don’t say a word.” Koushi said, as he walked over to where he was standing with Asahi. “You say something, and I’m going to start crying again.” 

“We made it a lot farther than I thought we would.” Daichi said, the emotion sticking to his vocal chords like syrup sticks to pancakes. “I for sure thought we were goners two days ago. And look at us.” 

“It was bound to happen.” Asahi said, taking his hair out of his ponytail. “I’m tired.” 

“We all are.” Daichi agreed, as the three of them stood close together on the sidelines of the court. “We had a great run.” 

“We really did.” Koushi looked at the both of them. “Let’s celebrate tonight, yeah? We need to make sure our teammates know that everything we’ve done is a miracle in its own right. Karasuno flew.” 

Blinking back the tears, Daichi nodded his head. “Yeah, we did.” 

Koushi and Asahi walked off the court together, heading towards the locker rooms. Not ready to be done with this match, Daichi lingered a little longer. “If it isn’t the man of the hour.” He lifted his head, and saw the captain of Nekoma making his way over to where he was standing. “Figured you would be in the showers by now.” 

“Don’t you know? I like to keep the stink of the game on me for as long as possible.” He looked up at Kuroo, both sharing identical smirks on their faces. “Didn’t expect to see you hanging out. Meeting a hot girl for a date?” 

“I’m afraid the person I want to see is going to be busy tonight, but that’s the way it goes.” Kuroo stepped closer to him. “Quit trying to be tough, Dai. I can see you want to break. Get it over with.” 

Knowing that he could never hide his true face to Kuroo, he stepped forward and pressed his face against his chest. Wrapping his arms tight around him, he began to sob. He sobbed for the loss they had just experienced; he sobbed for the end of his time with the volleyball club; he sobbed for his friends - in particular the man who was holding him tight - as they had put up their own strong fight against them and had lost. They were now both losers who could wallow together, or could remain optimistic and watch the next few games as lovers of the game, and not losers. 

“I hate that you lost.” Kuroo whispered into his ear, his voice thick with emotion. “You were supposed to beat that stupid owl.” 

He barked out a half-laugh, half-sob as he kept his arms tight around Kuroo’s frame. “Yeah, well. I guess we’re going to have to cheer that idiot on together, right?” 

“You know we will.” Lips grazed the skin just below his ear, and left a kiss behind in its wake. “I’m really proud of you, Dai. You guys fought really well today.” 

He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, and stared up at the one person who knew this empty feeling that was plaguing him. “You guys put up a hell of a fight too.” 

“Thanks for that. You guys deserved that win. This loss? Not so much.” They shared a sad smile. “Now, go shower and be with your team tonight. Don’t be sad babies. Have fun - remember, it’s just a game.” 

“I’ll call you later? Maybe we could meet up afterwards?” 

“I would love that, Dai.” 

The weight of failure still hung over his shoulders, but knowing that he wasn’t alone in this helped to alleviate some of that pain. He knew that Karasuno had done the best that they could - it had been a hell of a series. Out of his three years with the club, he never expected to go this far. He knew that Karasuno made a name for itself today in Tokyo, and that their legacy would carry on to the next year. It was going to be hard to say goodbye, but for now - for now, he was going to go and enjoy the rest of the tournament without the pressure of needing to perform. 

It was going to be okay. 


End file.
